On this day, Sept. 29, 1982
Examiner Staff Writer 9/29/08
The first of seven people are killed by cyanide-laced Tylenol in northwest Chicago.Mary Ann Kellerman, a seventh-grader, was the first to die after ingesting the over-the-counter pain reliever. Over the next two days, six other people suddenly died of unknown causes in the area.
Richard Keyworth and Philip Cappitelli, firefighters in the Windy City, realized that all seven victims had ingested Extra-Strength Tylenol before becoming ill.
Further investigation revealed that several bottles of the Tylenol capsules had been poisoned with cyanide.
While bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were recalled nationwide, the only contaminated capsules found were in the Chicago area. The culprit never was caught, but the mass murder led to new tamper-proof medicine containers. It also led to a string of copycat crimes, as others sought to blackmail companies with alleged poisoning schemes, most of which proved to be false alarms.
The Tylenol crisis also has been used as a basis to spread urban legends about poison in kids’ candy at Halloween and other poisoned foods or drinks purchased by consumers.
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